


Breathe In, Breathe Out

by WordsAblaze



Series: Whumpskier [13]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Delayed Drowning, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt/Comfort, I Tried, Idiots in Love, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, M/M, Protective Eskel (The Witcher), Soft Eskel (The Witcher), Whumptober, apologies in advance for medical inaccuracies, no beta we die like jaskier doesn't, scorpion ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:49:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26996194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsAblaze/pseuds/WordsAblaze
Summary: Eskel had thought it was a rather smooth kikimora contract right up until Jaskier rather painfully proved him wrong... day thirteen of whumptober
Relationships: Eskel/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Whumpskier [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949428
Comments: 4
Kudos: 100





	Breathe In, Breathe Out

**Author's Note:**

> it didn't dawn on me until too late that AUs exist so i just struggled my way through today's modern prompt options, i'm kinda dumb like that,, anyway....  
> today's pairing: jaskier/eskel  
> prompts used: delayed drowning

“How did you find so many rhymes for Kikimora?” Eskel asks.

Jaskier grins at him, somehow shifting so they’re pressed even closer on their bed. “I didn’t build my fame with false talent, darling.”

Eskel snorts, pulling the blanket over them properly. “No, you built it with false tales instead.”

“Hey!” Jaskier protests, but he’s too busy being comfortable to sit up and argue properly. 

Eskel smiles fondly, not that Jaskier can see it, and lets himself drift off. They deserve it after all, it’d been a difficult contract and they’d ended up covered in mud, their clothes soaked through by the time they’d succeeded. They'd also trailed a path of murky  water back to the inn, where the innkeeper had mercifully allowed them to make a mess in their attempts to claim their well-deserved rest. 

As it is, he’s not entirely sure what wakes him up again, or at least not until he sees Jaskier hunched over himself in a corner.  “Jaskier?”

He only receives a soft groan in response but smells the vomit as soon as he swings off the bed and stands up, his feet moving before his heart remembers to continue beating.  Jaskier slumps into his chest, clearly exhausted. “I’m sorry, it must smell so awful to you.”

Eskel wants to both kiss and punch him for being so concerned about something like that when there are clearly bigger things to worry about. “Did you drink too much?” he asks softly, rubbing circles on Jaskier’s arm without thinking about it.

Jaskier shrugs. “I don’t know. Must have.” 

Hoping that Jaskier isn’t ill again, Eskel carefully guides them back to bed. Jaskier curls into him immediately and his skin doesn’t feel too hot so they let it slide, simply falling back into a comfortable sleep.

And he seems better in the morning, already awake and slipping on his doublet by the time Eskel rouses with a yawn. 

“Don’t take too long,” Jaskier tells him with a wink. Eskel rolls his eyes, knowing that it doesn’t matter how long he takes, he absolutely cannot interrupt Jaskier mid-performance unless someone is dying. 

He thinks he hears Jaskier stifle a cough as he leaves but he doesn’t pay any heed to it. At least, not until he gets downstairs and sees him do the same thing again, quickly covering it up with a new song.  Frowning, he settles at one of the more secluded tables and watches Jaskier, concern building inside him as he catches the bard coughing far more than he should if last night’s situation was merely due to drinking. 

“What’s wrong with your voice?” Eskel asks once Jaskier sits down, regretting his wording immediately when he’s met with a sharp spike of sadness and a frown.

“Your food,” a woman says to their left before he can apologise.

Jaskier waits until she’s gone before shaking his head. “I need some air,” he mumbles, almost tripping over his own feet in his rush to leave.

Eskel curses, letting the family in front of their table pass by before following the scent of spring and sadness. Yet again, he’s surprised by how far Jaskier manages to travel without being seen, and he finds him slumped against Scorpion, who huffs pointedly at him when he arrives.

“I’m sorry, Jas, I didn’t mean to be rude. Your voice is perfect but your breathing isn’t,” he explains.

Jaskier smiles but coughs again, wrapping his arms around Eskel when he kneels beside him, after Scorpion gives him permission of course.  He feels warmer than before despite the outdoor breeze and that worries Eskel, who pulls back and glances over him. “Are you injured?”

Frowning as if unsure, Jaskier pats himself down before shaking his head with a sheepish grin. “Not that I can tell?”

“I’m taking you to the healer,” Eskel decides, guiding them both to their feet.

Or he would have, had Jaskier not refused to stand and slipped from his grasp, landing on the floor with a thud and a groan. “Ow,” he breathes, letting his head drop into the floor too.

Internally cursing because he doesn’t want to worry Jaskier, Eskel pulls one of the bard’s arms over his shoulder and lifts him up. He freezes when Jaskier practically  _ wheezes _ though, looking up at him with panic shining in his eyes.

“Hurts, ‘skel…” Jaskier moans, clutching his middle with his free arm as he coughs again.

Sighing, Eskel swings Jaskier’s legs up and lifts him bridal style, paying no attention to the bard's senseless apologies as he runs as gently as possible to the healer’s house. Jaskier is struggling to breathe as they burst through the doors, spluttering on air as Eskel rushes over his own apologies and pleas.

“In and out, bardling, come on,” he instructs as Jaskier struggles to breathe, his chin wobbling.

“Set him down, I’ve seen this before,” the woman says before either of them can explain, and it’s only when she starts reciting something that Eskel realises she’s a sorceress.

“Eskel?” Jaskier gasps, reaching for him.

Eskel swears that he’s never going to let this happen again, whatever this is, because he’s not sure his heart can handle hearing Jaskier sound so  _ helpless _ . Trying his best to smile, he takes Jaskier’s hand and kisses his fingers. “You’re going to be fine.”

Jaskier looks skeptical but breaks into coughs before he can say anything else, his grip tightening on Eskel’s fingers to an almost painful level. There’s only a split second where Eskel looks away to watch the sorceress but when he turns back to Jaskier, his eyes are closed.

“What happened?” he demands, his voice totally not choked up. 

The sorceress frowns, finishing her spell before placing her hands on Jaskier’s chest, the two of them going incredibly still before Jaskier shudders and she stumbles back with a soft exhale.

“Are you okay?” Eskel asks. 

She smiles at him despite the beads of sweat on her forehead. “I appreciate your concern, though I do not require it. Your bard almost drowned and he’s unlikely to wake until tomorrow but he’ll live.” 

“Drowned?” Eskel asks, not wanting to point out that they’re most definitely on dry land.

She nods, raising an eyebrow at him. “I said what I meant. It’s simply a delayed reaction to inhaling water and I’m willing to bet it’s from that contract you took.” 

_ Oh _ .

He's such a fool for thinking they'd gotten out of it unscathed. He should have known better than to let Jaskier's coughing slide and he should have done something, anything. 

“So this is my fault? Did I…” 

“No,” she interjects, but her tone is soothing. “There’s nothing anyone can do about it. You’re simply fortunate there was someone around who knows magic.” 

Jaskier shivers even in his sleep, turning towards where Eskel is standing beside him. He can’t help but take Jaskier’s hand again, smiling at the thought of someone trusting him enough to seek his comfort without being awake to think about it.

“Take care of him,” the sorceress whispers, vanishing before he can ask her what he owes.

He plans to do just that.

**Author's Note:**

> the prompts i couldn't use were 'chemical pneumonia' and 'oxygen mask' - maybe one day i'll use them with a modern au but who knows ?? certainly not me !!
> 
> thanks for reading !! toss a kudos/comment? xx


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